Nigerian rescuers battled with shovels and picks to save people trapped for a second day beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Lagos on Thursday as the Red Cross said the death toll stands at 24.
Hopes were fading that anyone could survive another night trapped in the debris as rains fell on the area and shortages of equipment hampered diggers at Nigeria’s latest collapsed residential tower, relief workers said.
“We have resumed rescue work at the site. The unfortunate thing is that our efforts are being hampered by the rain,” Red Cross disaster officer Umar Mairiga told Agence France-Presse at the scene of Tuesday evening’s tragedy in central Lagos.
Local media earlier quoted an unidentified Red Cross official as saying 43 bodies had been recovered from the site at the Ebute-Metta district of Lagos, but Maigira said he could not immediately confirm this toll.
He said a shortage of specialised equipment also was hampering the rescue effort and preventing workers from reaching people, “whether dead or alive”.
“The German construction firm Julius Berger, which has been helping, left the site around 6pm yesterday [Wednesday] and they have not come back. We are using shovels and other crude tools, which are hindering our efforts,” Mairiga said.
“Residents of the area and other sympathisers are doing their best to bring out more people.”
Maigira said the chances of survival fell with every passing hour.
“I don’t think anybody will be brought out alive after today [Thursday]. That is why we have to intensify efforts to rescue those who are still under the debris,” he said.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the tragedy, the latest in a string of such disasters in Africa’s most-populous country in recent months, especially in overcrowded Lagos.
Building experts have blamed the collapses on the use of substandard construction materials, disregard for building regulations and non-compliance with development policies.
Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, who visited the scene of the disaster on Wednesday, ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the construction of the building. — AFP